Wagon-tongue support



(No Model.) L. E. HASTINGS.

WAGON TONGUE SUPPORT.

Patented Sept. 28, 1886.

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f UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS E. HASTINGS, OF MANNING, IOWA.

WAGON-TONGUE SUPPORT.

SPECIPICATIONforming part of Letters Patent No. 349,714, datedseptember 28, 1886,

Application filed July 22, 1886. Serial No. 208,706. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LOUIS E. HASTINGS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Manning, in the county of Carroll and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wagon-Tongue Supports; and I do hereby declare thatthefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple and expeditious means of increasing or decreasing the tension of an elastic tongue-support While the tongue is supported thereby and without disconnecting the pole from the support; and it consists in the novel combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described, and specifically pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view taken transversely through the center of the forward axle, showing the wheel, one of the hounds, and a portion of the tongue and the improved devices for supporting the tongue. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the spring and the adjusting devices.

' Upon the front axle, A, of a carriage requiring the service of a pole, are attached in the ordinary manner the hounds B, between which hounds is secured by the bolt D, which passes transversely through the ends of the hounds,the tongue E. The width between the hound B B on the axle A is made sufficient to receive the end of a flexible forked end of a tongue, and between said forked ends and to the bolt the adjusting devices may be attached.

Beneath the axle A, I arrange a semi-elliptic spring, F, one end of which bears upwardly against the under side of the axle, and the opposite end is attached to a loop, on the end of an adjustable bolt, G. The bolt G is screw-threaded, and is inserted through the perforation e in the tongue E, and upon said bolt is fitted two nuts, one nut, 9 bearing against the under side of the tongue E, by means of which adjustingnuts the boltG may be raised or lowered sufiiciently to accomplish its results, hereinafter specified.

Upon the under side of the spring F, and through the box f, which is attached to said spring, I introduce a rod, H, and bend the opposite ends, h h, of said rod upwardly on either side of the spring F, and form a screwthread on the said opposite ends, h h, of said rod H. I then make a nut, I, of increased length, and from one end I make an interior right -hand screw-thread and from the opposite end a left-hand thread. The nuts I are then fitted on the ends h h of the bent rod H and turned a suflicient distance. The left-hand screw-thread being upward in the nut,I then introduce the end it of a rod, K, which is also screw-threaded and fitted t0 the left-hand screw-thread of the nut, and upon the opposite side a similar rod, K, in the same manner.

A slight distance above the screw-threaded ends h h of rod H, I rigidly cast the hooks k k, which hook over the transverse bolt D and sustain the weight of the spring F, and from which point of support the power is distributed equally between the pole. and axle. I make the rod of such alength that the extreme ends is, opposite to that having the screwthreads, may be bent into a hooked form,and when the pole is detached from the hounds the rod K may be supported by the said hooks, thus keeping the spring from falling upon the ground.

For the purpose of increasing the tension of the spring F,the nuts I I are turned in one direction and the ends of the opposite rods are brought nearer together, thus elevating the pole sufficiently to relieve the weight from the team, and this is accomplished without the necessity of imhitching the pole. Should the tension be required in greater degree,the nuts on bolt G are loosened and the nut 9 turned so as to throw the bolt G in a downward direction, and with it the end of the spring F, attached thereto. The advantage is also gained of being able to adj ust the tension of thespring F without unhooking the supporting device. Having fully described my invention, what I now claim as new, and desire to secure 'by Letters Patent, is

1. A wagon-tongue support consisting of a tongue arranged between suitable hounds on the axle of a vehicle, a spring attachedat one end to the tongue and the opposite end to the axle, and an adjustable supporting device attached midway the length of and to said spring,

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port, of the axle having hounds, atongue between said hounds,and a supporting-bolt, of a spring having one endprovided with an adjusting-bolt and nuts attached to the said tongue,

10 and the opposite end of said spring attached to said axle, and rods provided at one end with right and left hand screw-threads attached to said spring and also to said supportingrrodmnd intermediate adjusting nuts provided with right and left hand screw-threads, as shown 15 and described.

} LOUIS E. HASTINGS. Witnesses:

FRED. W. PERKINS, A. GRANT HOLMES. 

